


The Doorbell is the Best Alarm Clock

by RoguishRobin



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Caring, Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 20:25:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17290814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoguishRobin/pseuds/RoguishRobin
Summary: Q has trouble getting up in the mornings, fortunately, Bond is happy to help out.





	The Doorbell is the Best Alarm Clock

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm still alive and still writing (or at least I'm trying). I haven't posted anything in almost two years. I've had a tough time writing due to vicious writer's block and also real life being stressful. I've been trying to get back into it and this is what I ended up with. I hope you enjoy. I love these two dorks so much and am so happy that we have one more movie to look forward to.

The alarm clock rang again. It was an obnoxious song about how everything is awesome, that Eve had set as his alarm ringtone and Q hated it with a passion. However, it always woke him up.

He had cycled through every single ringtone on his phone and while they worked in the beginning, he grew immune to them after a few weeks.

Eve had gotten that evil glint in her eye after he had complained and told him she knew a song that would always wake him up.

She hadn’t been wrong but Q still cursed her every time he was woken by the bloody alarm. It always left him in a grumpy mood and he was extra snappy with his minions on the mornings he had pressed snooze more than twice.

“If you didn’t always work yourself to death you would probably be able to use normal alarm ringtones,” said Moneypenny and ignored his scathing look.

“You look pinched these days. It’s not a good look.”

“What’s not a good look?”

Q flailed in his chair and glared at Bond who had just crept into his office without a sound.

“Nothing. Moneypenny was just leaving, weren’t you?”

He gave Moneypenny a meaningful look which she ignored and just straightened out a wrinkle in her skirt.

“I was saying that Q needs more sleep. The rotting zombie look isn’t a good look for him.”

Q spluttered in outrage and was close to shoving Eve off his desk. Of course he didn’t because he liked all his limbs attached, thank you very much. He settled for glaring at her and then at Bond, when he chuckled and leaned back into the door frame, crossing one leg over the other.

“I don’t know about that,” he purred, “I think our Quartermaster looks quite fetching even when he’s tired.”

Q pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Maybe the Quartermaster wouldn’t look so hassled if he didn’t have to deal with the two of you on a regular basis.”

Eve gave a fake gasp of outrage and brought a perfectly manicured hand to her chest.

“Q, that hurts,” said Bond a mock pout on his face.

Q closed his eyes praying to whatever may be out in the universe to give him patience.

“But you do agree that you look tired and haggard,” Eve said, a triumphant smile on her face.

“I didn’t say that.”

Bond could see that Eve’s last remark had genuinely stung Q and he decided to change the subject. He distracted Eve by asking her about Sam and then lead her out of the office to bring her to lunch.

Q declined the invitation to lunch, although he was thankful to Bond for getting Eve out of his office. He loved her dearly and she was a very good friend but sometimes she could be a bit too blunt. Eve never meant to hurt his feelings but sometimes she overstepped and she was always able to tell and then apologised a million times. Today she had been too distracted to notice.

Q was very aware of how he looked. He knew that he was pale and gangly and awkward and that the youthful glow he had at the beginning of his reign as Quartermaster had mostly diminished.

His job wasn’t easy and it showed in the lines and wrinkles that had formed around his eyes, chin and nose, in the first greying hairs he had found the other day in the bathroom mirror. He remembered staring at them in horror before Newton had brushed around his legs distracting him.

If he was totally honest with himself he wouldn’t usually be so sensitive but the fact that Bond had been there and that Bond had agreed with her that he looked tired had made him more sensitive.

Although Bond said that you still looked good, said a little voice in his head which he ignored.

He had a million things on his ‘to do’ list and if he wanted to leave at a decent hour then he really needed to get started.

Despite all good intentions, it was past half past ten when he was interrupted from his screen by a knock on the doorframe.

He looked up, blinking owlishly, trying to orientate himself. Bond was standing in the doorway an amused grin on his face and Q groaned.

“What do you want 007?”

“I wanted to see if you want a lift home?” asked Bond and he entered the office walking over to the sofa opposite the door.

“I’m not done yet,” said Q and forcefully pushed down a yawn that was threatening to escape him.

“Alright I can wait here until you’re done.”

With those words Bond lay back on the couch, his feet propped up on one end and with an arm under his head the other resting on his stomach.

Q hummed in response and turned back to his screen.

It wasn’t uncommon for Bond to offer him a lift home in the evenings once he had discovered that Q lived in his general neighbourhood.

He asked him most days although Q generally declined if it was too early. Bond usually insisted if it after ten and had made a habit of napping on Q’s sofa if Q still had work to do.

However, Q usually felt too guilty to go on working for a long time because the sofa wasn’t very comfortable.

He only worked for another half an hour to finish the report that M had demanded to be on his table by morning and then he shut down his computer and started to pack up his bag. He had just turned off his desk lamp and turned to wake up Bond when he saw the man in question watching him.

“Let’s go,” said Q after the silence had grown too long to be entirely comfortable. It was always a disconcerting sensation of having Bond’s undivided attention focused on him. Not unpleasant, not at all, but Q always felt that Bond saw so much more than other people. That he was able to see right into his soul.

“As you wish,” Bond said with a small smile and followed Q out of his office. The skeleton crew were all busy at work and Q left with a wave. He knew the office gossip had gone haywire the first time he had left with Bond but now it was a common occurrence and no one bothered to look anymore.

They walked along the empty corridors in companionable silence.

Q’s mind kept on replaying the early afternoon’s conversation over and over in his head. He wasn’t sure what exactly was bothering him nor did he know how to bring it up to Bond.

“Did you have a nice lunch?” he eventually enquired once they were both in the car and Bond had pulled into traffic.

“It was perfectly pleasant,” replied Bond, “it would have been even better if you had joined us.”

Q met Bond’s eyes and looked away again. These little comments had been increasing in the past few months and Q wasn’t entirely sure where they were going with this.

He had had feelings for Bond for a very long time. Ever since Bond had returned it seemed that Bond may return these feelings for Q. He hadn’t stopped his flirting with everyone else, he was Bond after all, but he had stopped sleeping with everyone in his sight. And he actively sought out Q, spending more time in Q Branch than anywhere else.

“I had things to do Bond,” said Q sharply and he felt Bond’s gaze for another second before he turned back to the road again.

“However I do appreciate you distracting Eve for me,” Q added to soften his earlier remark.

“I don’t think she meant to offend,” said Bond and Q cringed internally. He had suspected that Bond had noticed but hoped he hadn’t.

“I wasn’t offended,” he said weakly but they both knew that wasn’t entirely true.

“Well she certainly didn’t mean anything by it. She’s just worried that you’re not getting enough sleep.”

Q didn’t say anything, what was there to say? He knew he worked too much but who else could do it.

They didn’t speak for the rest of the drive and soon they pulled up outside of Q’s house.

“Thanks for the lift Bond,” said Q and opened the door.

“Q, wait a minute,” said Bond and twisted back to reach for something behind his seat.

Q stood beside the car shivering in his light cardigan, wishing he had put on his coat before getting out the car.

“Here,” said Bond and handed him a brown paper bag.

“What is this?” asked Q.

“You’ll see,” replied Bond and smiled at him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Q.”

Bond didn’t pull away until Q reached his front door and opened it.

Once he was inside Q turned on the lamps, fed and cuddled his cats and showered before he sat down on the sofa with the mysterious brown bag on the coffee table.

Oscar and Newton, his two furry and faithful companions, were both perched on the sofa with him.

He took the bag and peered inside to see a box wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper.

“It’s bloody November,” he snorted but took out the present and tore it open.

A bark of laughter escaped him when he saw what it was; a wake-up light alarm clock. An alarm clocks that could simulate a sunrise and according to the box this one even had a collection of nature sounds to help ease him awake.

Q didn’t even question how Bond knew about his alarm clock dilemma but he went to set it up in his bedroom immediately.

While he cleaned up the wrapping paper he noticed a small folded note among it. He unfolded it and his smile almost split his face when he read it.

_Enjoy your beauty sleep, not that you need it._

He grabbed his phone and sent Bond a thank you text.

_You’re welcome. I’ll pick you up in the morning in case the sunrise fails. Will bring breakfast. James_

Q went to sleep that night with a huge smile on his face.

He was startled awake the next morning by loud banging on his front door and the doorbell ringing repeatedly.

The room was lit up by the alarm clock and he vaguely registered the sound of water trickling and birds singing

Who needed an alarm clock when they had their very own 00 agent, thought Q grinning as he jumped out of bed to open the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Kudos and comments are like catnip for writers. :D


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